Would you wear Nol watch in Dubai?

Wondering where to go shopping for your next new watch? If you wait a little, you may be able to find a Nol watch on the market.

Nol is not a new Swiss watch. It is the same Nol of the Nol card that we all know so well in Dubai.

However, the days when Nol was only a physical card are long over.

"We have been looking at wearables for some time and are suggesting the idea of the Nol card watch this year," said Khalid al Awadhi, Director of Automated Fare Collection at Roads and Transport Authority ( RTA ) at the ongoing Gitex Technology Week.

The Nol watch does everything that a regular Nol card does except make parking payments.

"The parking ticket machine requires a card to be inserted. This is something we are working on," al Awadhi said.

As the commuter approaches a Nol card gate or reader, the watch can be swiped across its sensors and doors will open.

"This can be used in Metro, bus, Tram or taxi for payment of fares," he said.

However, the launch of the new wearable Nol card is not official yet, Al Awadhi said.

"We are here to ask the public if they would be interested in such a thing and if they would wear it. Maybe a wristband would be a more popular option," he said.

However, the Nol watch is not the first alternative to the card. The mobile phone already can be used to host the payment method, a system which has been made easier this year.

"It is now possible to use the mobile phone as a Nol card without having to convert to FNC technology or place a different SIM card in your phone.

"We have introduced a technology called Host Card Emulation (HCE). All you need to do is scan your Nol card with your phone and the phone works as a Nol card," said Al Awadhi.

Last year at Gitex, RTA announced the launch of the Nol sticker, a small piece that could be attached to the mobile phone enabling Nol card services.

However, this idea did not prove efficient enough and has been put on hold for the moment, Al Awadhi noted.